Pumpkin STEM Project Potato Clock Kit

Have you ever tried out a potato clock? Did you even know a potato could power a clock? How about a pumpkin? The kit we picked up suggested trying out different fruits and veggies, so we did! We knew the potatoes would work since it’s advertised as a potato clock, so we decided to build a pumpkin clock instead for a cool pumpkin STEM project. Perfect for fall STEM all season long! Make one for Thanksgiving dinner and time your food! Pumpkin STEM activities using real pumpkins are the best.

PUMPKIN STEM PROJECT: MAKE A CLOCK

There are a lot of fun ways to explore STEM at home with your kids and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist either. I’m not, but I still want to be able to enjoy cool ideas at home and learn a little something too. Since we don’t have copper, zinc, wires, and little clocks hanging around, I needed to get some supplies. This kit proved to be perfect {this is NOT sponsored!} and we can easily reuse the supplies.

The instructions in this Green Science Potato Clock Kit are very simple to follow even if you don’t think you follow directions well! I did use a small knife to make slits for the copper and zinc strips. I imagine a potato is easier to push through, but I didn’t want to bend the strips as that is what started to happen. My son was able to help with the whole process and loved it! He did not think the pumpkins would work!

He enjoyed fiddling around with the little clock to set the time. The kit suggests trying out many different things to see if they produce the energy needed to power up the clock. I love that we can reuse the items for more tests, so it’s really worth it to keep these materials to reuse. It was really cool to see the pumpkin clock working.

PUMPKIN CLOCK SCIENCE

What’s the science behind this pumpkin clock and cool pumpkin STEM project? You just made a battery out of your pumpkins! Talk about green science! The particles inside the pumpkins help convert the chemical energy inside the strips of metal into electrical energy. An electrical current moves between the two strips. The pumpkin allows the current to flow. An electrical current is also flowing through the wires to power the clock

There are many fun ways to use seasonal items, like pumpkins to fuel your STEM learning from pumpkin volcanos to a pumpkin pulley to a pumpkin tinker/maker project! We have corralled all of our favorite pumpkin STEM activities for both orange and white pumpkins into one spot! Yes, white pumpkins are fun too!

PUMPKIN STEM PROJECT WITH A POTATO CLOCK KIT

Click on the photos below for more fun pumpkin STEM ideas to try at home or in the classroom!